'Eating clean' is more than a trend, it's a smart way to live. But how do you know where to begin? We asked Terry Walters, blogger and author of Clean Start (Sterling Epicure, 2010), for simple tips and 5 clean-eating recipes to get you started ...

Any time you diet, you follow the basic rule of cutting back: smaller portions, fewer carbohydrates and less fast food. But a healthy diet isn’t just about what you cut out. It’s also what you take in.

"Clean eating is about bringing great foods into your diet,” says Terry Walters, a Connecticut-based author of two cookbooks, Clean Foodand Clean Start (Sterling Epicure). She has also trained at the Institute of Integrative Nutrition in New York.

In this exclusive Lifescript interview, Walters, who writes Eat Clean Live Well, a popular blog dedicated to the movement, shares her secrets on starting your clean-eating diet, plus five recipes to get you started:1. Add color.“The standard American diet is very beige,” Walters says.

Such foods - including pasta, chicken, potatoes and bread - provide limited nutrition. To get the vitamins and minerals for a healthy body, “we need a rainbow of color,” she says.

Look for oranges, reds, pinks and golden tones. In summer, that means peaches and other fruits; in winter, you can find these colors in root vegetables and squashes.

Other great choices: Dark blue and purple foods, such as blueberries and raspberries, are great sources of antioxidants, which counter cell-damaging free radical molecules.

2. Go green.The most important color of the food spectrum, Walters says, is green. Think spinach, kale and collard greens.

“They’re rich in calcium, iron and minerals,” she explains. “They’re good for heart-health and create alkalinity to combat the acids we get from other foods.”

Start by having salad with every meal, or at least once a day, Walters suggests. But go beyond the typical iceberg: Instead, toss up tender greens such as watercress, romaine lettuce, Napa cabbage and bok choy.

Not a salad lover? Try firmer greens like kale and mustard greens as delicious warm side dishes. Simply sauté them in olive oil with onion and garlic.

Also, add greens to sauces, stir-fries and even smoothies, she says.

3. Pump up instant foods.Canned soups are fast and convenient. But they also have loads of sugar and salt.

You don’t have to give them up completely. Just add vegetables that raise the meal’s nutritional value.

“Throw in a few leaves of escarole, chopped kale or cabbage,” she says.

4. Get back to basics.Instant oatmeal may be a quick breakfast, but it usually leaves you hungry a couple hours later. Even better: less-processed steel-cut oats, which have more fiber and take longer to digest, so you stay full longer.

Make it in a rice cooker, which helps retain the oats’ full nutritional value. Then, add fresh fruit, like sliced apples or peaches.

5. Make changes slowly.Give your taste buds and digestive system time to adjust to this new way of eating, Walters says.

"Even though we're making positive changes, dramatic shifts in diet can have unpleasant side effects, including bloating, gas, headaches or even skin breakouts," she says. Slow progress will mitigate these.

“Try one clean food per week,” she says. “Even if you don’t like half of them, you’ve still introduced 26 new healthy foods in a year.”

Walters shares five Clean Start winter recipes – including an appetizer, drinks and a dessert – to help you eat healthier this year.

New Year’s SoupMakes 6 servingsWalters’ note: “In the South, it’s believed that eating black-eyed peas and collard greens on New Year’s Day ensures good luck in the year ahead. Although my family eats this colorful soup all winter long, it’s especially good during the holidays, when its wholesomeness balances the sweets of the season.”

Preparation1. In a soup pot or large Dutch oven over medium heat, sauté onion and garlic in olive oil for 3 minutes or until soft. Add carrots and parsnips, and sauté for 3 minutes. Chop collard greens into bite-size pieces, and add to pot along with black-eyed peas and oregano.

3. Pour wet ingredients into dry, and mix as briefly as possible to incorporate all ingredients.

4. Transfer to prepared baking dish, and bake for 25 minutes or until top appears slightly dry. Remove from oven, and place on wire rack to cool completely before cutting and removing from pan.

What’s Your Diet Downfall?

You already know if you're a junk food junkie or a sucker for bread and butter. So what else is there to know about why your diet isn't working? Find out if you're unwittingly sabotaging your weight-loss plan and adding inches to your waistline with this diet quiz.

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